Suicide pact accused contacted other men, court hears

A woman accused of leaving a man to die after forming a suicide pact had begun discussing more deals within an hour of his death, a court heard. Natasha Gordon, 44, denies encouraging Matthew Birkinshaw, 31, to kill himself in December 2015.Leicester Crown Court heard they made contact on an internet forum – where the postman spoke of ending his life.Text messages suggested Ms Gordon was already entering further suicide pacts, the jury were told.Ms Gordon, of Paston Ridings, Peterborough, was found by police in a leopard-print coat with matching hat and leggings, after allegedly leaving Mr Birkinshaw alone in his Fiat Punto on 17 December 2015.He died of carbon monoxide poisoning, the court heard.

Leicester Crown Court was told how the Royal Mail employee, who was pronounced dead at 19:24 GMT, was found locked in the car and a police officer had to break the window with his baton. Another officer who attended the scene said Ms Gordon told him Mr Birkinshaw had given her £60 to get home but “asked her not to change his mind”.PC Gordon Scott told the jury: “It was the intervention of her partner that then made her disclose that we should be looking for another person at risk.”Text messages read to the court between Ms Gordon and two other men were sent at 20:04 and 21:28 on the night of Mr Birkinshaw’s death.

In her evidence, PC Anna Pollard said when she was taken to the station Ms Gordon added: “I don’t want to die, that’s why I pulled out of tonight.”The court heard how Mr Birkinshaw had travelled from his home in Walsall, West Midlands, to the defendant’s home in Peterborough on 17 December 2015.Ms Gordon denies a single charge of encouraging Mr Birkinshaw to take his own life.The trial continues.
Source: BBC Cambs